online guitar instructors

online guitar instructors

Does learning to play the guitar require private lessons?

I am a beginner learning to play the guitar having no background what so ever in musical instruments. I was wondering if one could learn guitar my playing and practicing the online lessons on various websites or would it be necessary to pay an instructor to teach it personally. I do know that going with an instructors might perhaps help learn faster but I do not as yet wish to pay an instructor and want to try out self learning. Is this a good approach and is it possible with an acoustic guitar.

No it isn’t required at all, especially these days. You can get a variety of magazines, books, videos, DVDs, CD, etc, etc. Learning that way would be a great and relatively inexpensive way to start.

Also, learn as much basic music theory as possible.

Most of the teachers I had were lame and only interested in sucking money out of me. I don’t mean any disrespect to teachers out there, I was just unlucky. Also, I can say that because now I’m a music theory/guitar teacher myself and I know what it means to be a good teacher. I go out of my way to make sure I get through to the kids and I always put their mind at ease about the money because I charge them for a half hour, even if they stay an hour and a half… I remember watching the clock when I was younger, panicking at the charges I was running up, and I never want to do that to a student.

Anyway, you asked what an instructor could do that an online website might not: The main thing is that they can help you concentrate on the important stuff, not sweat the things of lesser importance, and answer your questions & provide guidance specific to your needs in real time. That can be VERY valuable.

I remember one of my teachers actually led me to a huge breakthrough (though most of the times he was more interested in my money). I told him I wanted to learn new chord progressions because all I really knew were I-IV-V’s. He said, “EVERY song every written in the history of the world is a I-IV-V”. He winked, and said, that’s not necessarily true, but if you think of it that way, I can really help you see a larger picture. He then went on to explain the minor chords and diminished chords were merely subtitutions and could be thought of as either the I, IV, or V, and that non-diatonic chords were simply passing chords we could ignore (in terms of analysis).

Now I know, you may have read that last paragraph and thought, “Huh? It sounds like a foreign language.” But my point is, the question answer session I had with that instructor, with immediate feedback and guidance led to a HUGE break through that to this day is probably the most important thing I ever learned about music. It is VERY DIFFICULT to get that (though not impossible) from websites or media-based instruction.

So, don’t underestimate the benefit of a private or semi-private (classroom) teacher. But in the meantime, here are some links to some great instructional material:

2of7 Guitar Lessons CHICKEN PICKIN Steve Morse

Sooner or Later $16.79 SOONER OR LATER – DVD Movie…

Guitar Lessons: Flamenco Made Easy Learn How to play Flamenco guitar instructional video $12.30 International recording and touring artist, Charles Sedlak will give you very detailed and entertaining lessons to get you started playing Flamenco guitar today! Charles will teach you proper form, technique and strumming patterns to master the lessons in this DVD and inspire you to create your own exciting Flamenco compositions….

The Legendary Guitar of James Burton $13.69 The Legendary Guitar of James Burton James Burton is highly regarded in the industry with a roll call of famous names who have sought his contribution to their music: Randy Newman, Gram Parsons, and Emmylou Harris among them. On this DVD he covers vibrato, stringbending, pick & finger techniques, solo construction, slides steel effects and his trademark “chicken pickin’” style….

Audio-Technica ATR-35S Lavalier Microphone $26.99 Engineered for intelligible, accurate voice reproduction, the Audio-Technica ATR-35S high-quality condenser lavalier microphone is ideal for video use, and its low-profile design assures minimum visibility. It’s also a great choice for aerobics/dance/sports instructors. It has an integrated 20-foot cable terminated with a 3.5mm mini-plug for use with most cameras and home recording systems. Its o…

Paul Gilbert: Get Out of My Yard $16.83 Hot off his latest tour with G3 featuring Joe Satriani and John Petrucci, Paul Gilbert presents his amazing Get Out Of My Yard DVD containing over two hours of personal guitar instruction and live performances from the world’s most insane shred guitarist.Paul goes over his guitar parts –chords and riffs– from every song from the Get Out Of My Yard album. Includes helpful closeups of his fingerin…

Hal Leonard Guitar Method DVD: For the Beginning Electric or Acoustic Guitarist $6.34 The world-famous Hal Leonard Guitar Method has taught millions of people to play. Now learning will be even easier, thanks to this great new Digital Video Disc! Designed for anyone just learning to play electric or acoustic guitar, it covers tuning, identifying the parts of the guitar, reading both standard notation and tablature, playing chords, strumming and picking, improvising basic rock solos…

Jerry Snyder’s Guitar School, Method Book 1 (Book & Cd) $11.38 Well-respected educator and best-selling author Jerry Snyder has put together the most versatile guitar method available. This comprehensive method for classroom or individual study comes in two sections: the first section teaches chords and accompaniment…

Alfred’s PLAY Blues Guitar 1: The Ultimate Multimedia Instructor (Book & DVD) (Play (Alfred)) $11.26 Alfred PLAY Series Blues Guitar 1 Book & DVD…

Alfred’s PLAY Acoustic Guitar Basics: The Ultimate Multimedia Instructor (Book & DVD) (Play (Alfred)) $9.99 What do YOU want to PLAY today? The PLAY series has nailed down what today’s musician really wants: lessons you can use anytime, anywhere. They’re flat-out more convenient than private lessons, and just as valuable. The high-quality video of expert instru…